Glinda
Glinda is the Good Witch of the South, ruler of the Quadling Country, and the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz. She comes to be known as simply "Glinda the good". Princess Ozma often turns to Glinda for advice, and the Sorceress has saved both Ozma and the Land of Oz as a whole from danger on several occasions. She is one of the few individuals who is authorised to practise magic in Oz, apart from the Wizard and Princess Ozma herself. Glinda never fails to keep abreast of the events chronicled in her Great Book of Records, to the point where virtually nothing of any importance occurs anywhere without the Good Witch's knowledge. Description She is beautiful and stately and appears very young, though she is hundreds of years old. She is tall and wears splendid gowns that trail behind her as she walks. Her eyes are blue as the sky and always frank and smiling. Her hair is like red gold, finer than the finest silken strands, flowing in ringlets over her shoulders. Her cheeks are the envy of peach-blows and her mouth is enticing as a rosebud. She wears no jewels, for her beauty would shame them. Glinda is kind and helpful, always willing to listen no matter how busy she may be. She has fifty attendants, chosen from the loveliest girls in each of the countries of Oz. It can be inferred from the Soldier with the Green Whiskers' introduction to her that Glinda knew "how to keep young in spite of the many years she has lived", even before Queen Lurline enchanted Oz and stopped its inhabitants from aging. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) According to General Guph, Glinda can also "command the spirits of the air". (The Emerald City of Oz) History Centuries ago, when Oz was ruled by a wicked king, Glinda placed the Forbidden Fountain on the grounds of the Royal Palace of Oz. He and all his subjects drank of it, and afterward grew wise together. (The Emerald City of Oz) Glinda became the Ruler of the Quadlings after vanquishing the Wicked Witch of the South. (Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz) Dorothy Gale visited Glinda on her first visit to Oz to ask for her help in returning to Kansas. The Good Witch told her of the charm of the Silver Shoes. Then she took the Golden Cap from Dorothy and commanded the Winged Monkeys to carry the Scarecrow back to the Emerald City, the Cowardly Lion back to the forest where he was made king, the Tin Woodman to the Winkie Country to rule as Emperor. She then gave the Cap to the Winged Monkeys, thereby freeing them forever. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) When the Scarecrow was deposed as King of Oz, Glinda declined to help him regain the throne. Instead she initiated a search for the rightful ruler, Princess Ozma the daughter of Pastoria. She eventually learned that the Wizard of Oz had kidnapped Ozma and taken her to Mombi to be hidden away. Glinda captured Mombi and forced her to restore Ozma. (The Marvelous Land of Oz) When Dorothy visited the Land of Oz a second time, Glinda advised against her using the Magic Belt to return home, suggesting that it would be lost forever like the Silver Shoes she had used previously. (Ozma of Oz) Following the Wizard's return to Oz, Glinda took it upon herself to instruct the former humbug in the magical arts, and turn him into a real wizard. (Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The Road to Oz, The Emerald City of Oz) After reading in her Great Book of Records about the Nome King's attempt to conquer Oz, Glinda placed a spell on the entire country to make it invisible to outsiders. (The Emerald City of Oz) Glinda read of Queen Ann's plan to conquer Oz in her Record Book, and redirected the queen and her army to the Nome Kingdom. (Tik-Tok of Oz) She sent the Scarecrow to help Trot and Cap'n Bill when they arrived in Jinxland. (The Scarecrow of Oz) When Princess Dorothy and Ozma went to the tribes of the Skeezers and the Flatheads and were trapped in the underwater island of the Skeezers, Glinda assembled a group of Ozma's counselors to help bring the underwater island back above water. (Glinda of Oz) Book Appearances * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (first appearance) * The Marvelous Land of Oz * Ozma of Oz * The Road to Oz * The Emerald City of Oz * Tik-Tok of Oz * The Scarecrow of Oz * Glinda of Oz Depictions on Stage, Screen and Other Literature In The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908), Evelyn Judson played Glinda. Billie Burke portrayed Glinda as the Good Witch of the North in MGM's 1939 classic film. In The Wonderful Land of Oz, Glinda is played by Hilary Lee Gaess. She sings 2 very memorable songs in the film, titled "Try To Touch a Star" and "I've Watched Over You" (in which she touchingly tells the Scarecrow that he possess not only a brain, but also a heart). She turns Tip back into Ozma herself in this version. In Journey Back to Oz, Glinda is voiced by opera singer Rise Stevens. This incarnation of the character says that her magic is no match for Mombi's (the direct opposite of which was true in the canonical books), but she emboldens Dorothy with an operatic song called "You Have Only You (To Look To)", helps the young heroine the way the Queen of the Field Mice helped the protagonists in The Marvelous Land of Oz, and sends Dorothy back to Kansas by conjuring up another twister. In Magic Land the Glinda figure is named Stella. In The Wizard of Oz (1982), Glinda appears in the Emerald City following the Wizard's departure, and reveals the secret of the Magic Shoes to Dorothy, without waiting for Dorothy to visit her in the South as in Baum's original novel. In this version, the Good Witch of the North is her sister. In Return to Oz, Glinda can be seen in the background in the coronation scene.http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Cor_Glinda.jpg In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (anime), Glinda is portrayed as a tall, slender sorceress with long blue hair. She offers to make Dorothy a Princess of Oz when she first meets her, in return for all her heroic deeds, but Dorothy is determined to return to Kansas. When Jinjur and Mombi refuse to change their villainous ways, following Ozma's restoration to the throne, Glinda uses her magic to make them reform, against their will, thus preventing any further trouble from the rebel and the witch. As the series draws to an end, Glinda appears to magically save Dorothy from falling to her death, following an encounter with the Nome King and his minions. Glinda the Good Witch also appears in the apocryphal Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch, where she is friends with Elphaba Thropp, the future Wicked Witch of the West. The Miss Piggy plays Glinda, in 2005's The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. In this version she is also attracted to the Scarecrow who is played by Kermit the Frog (just like Miss Piggy is attracted to Kermit in "real life"). In Magician of Oz (2009), by James C. Wallace II, Glinda, along with Princess Ozma and Dorothy, greet young Jamie Diggs, the great grandson of O.Z. Diggs, when he arrives at Glinda's Red Brick Palace, courtesy of Polychrome and her father, the Great Rainbow. She also joins Jamie, Dorothy and Princess Ozma on a tumultuous journey in the Large Red Wagon, pulled by the Sawhorse through the Quadling Countryside on into the Winkie Country. She continues on and Bungle the Glass Cat joins the group as they board a raft bound for the Tin Palace of the Tin Woodman. In the 2013 Walt Disney Pictures film Oz: The Great and Powerful, Glinda will be played by actress Michelle Williams. Credits *''The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays'' (1908): Evelyn Judson *''The Wizard of Oz (1939): Billie Burke *The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969): Hilary Lee Gaess *Journey Back to Oz: Rise Stevens *The Wiz'' (1975 Broadway): Dee Dee Brightweather *''The Wiz'' (1978): Lena Horne *''The Wizard of Oz (1982): Wendy Thatcher *Wicked'' (2003): Kristin Chenoweth originated the role *''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' (2005): Miss Piggy *''The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's'' (VeggieTales) (2007): Madame Blueberry (Splenda the Sweet but non-fattening Fairy) *''Tin Man'' (2007): Anna Galvin as Lavender Eyes *''Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013): Michelle Williams External Links *Fansite page Category:Oz Book Characters Category:Oz Movie Characters Category:Quadling Country Category:Wicked Characters Category:Witches